The Tenth Anniversary of 9-11 In New York City

New York City, September 8 - 15, 2011 - The object of this post is to recap a series of 9-11 events as a diary over the course of a few days that will be amended to include events as this small era with huge consequences evolves. To see my story/photos from a month ago, visit my August 24 post:
http://railientrails.blogspot.com/2011/08/silverstein-properties-unveils-sixteen.html

September 8
The preparations culminating in Sunday's event began revealing themselves. The now annual American flags comprising the 'Remembrance Field of Honor' in Battery Park near the globe rescued from Ground Zero are in place. NYC Transit's '9/11 Remembrance Ten Years Later' ceremony was held on the 20th floor of 2 Broadway instead of the Park. The photo on the left shows the current height of 1 WTC with the globe and flags.

At Noon, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) conducted their '9/11 Remembrance Ten Years Later' which featured MTA officials speaking about the little-reported fact that agency-wide managers bonded with thousands of TWU union workers to get the job of assembling trucks and supplies to begin the rubble removal and recovery effort. Heroic efforts of individual employees such as subway motorman Hector Ramirez' effort to rescue passengers from the BMT Cortlandt Street platform before the towers fell, saving their lives; Transit workers drove buses to help

 evacuate people from the scene; and the list of heroes action at a critical time goes on and on. Afterwards, the express bus that was destroyed on 9-11 and rebuilt in a bus depot, was on display in front of 2 Broadway all day as a symbol of the resilience and determination to return to normal life.

In the evening at the Pace University auditorium, the National Press Photographer's Assn in conjunction with Pace University, sponsored the 'Witness To Tragedy And Recovery' symposium. Aaron Brown formerly of CNN, was the featured speaker. Michelle Charlesworth of ABC-TV was the panel discussion moderator with Aristede Economopulos, James Estrin, Steven Livingston, David Handschuh, Anthony Mancini, Shams Tarek, Richard B. Woodward and Joe Woolhead as panelists reflecting on that days events and its effect on photography and security issues. Kudos to Todd Maisel for co-chairing the event that had spirited story of each photographer's personal tale. Towards the end, discussion turned to how photographers are being targeted by police as 'suspicious persons' performing 'suspicious activity'. I urge everyone to see the photo exhibit of mostly September 11, 2001 photos before it closes on September 24th.

September 9
New York City Transit conducted another hour-long remembrance. Brian Jenkins (Director of the National Transportation Safety Security Center -The Mineta Institute), co-author of Saving City Lifelines: Lessons Learned in the 9/11 Attacks spoke of why he wrote the book. He said, "Future generations will ask what happened. It is important to preserve the facts of an unprecedented loss of life on US soil. The Mineta Institute did a study of best practices and learning experience which was published in this book." He added that in January of 2001, eight months before the tragedy, an exercise was conducted and that planning proved invaluable in dealing with the events that unfolded. after Jenkins spoke, several current and former MTA management leaders recounted their experiences of that fateful day.

It was revealed by Joe Hoffmann, former Sr VP of Subways, said that Transit was the first responder and supplied buses, trucks, logistics and trucks to begin the rescue and recovery effort. Transit's efforts have become lost facts when the 9-11 search and cleanup is discussed. No one died on NYC Transit that day.

Needless to say, the NYPD began ramping up security in Lower Manhattan with check points, street and access closures and the like this on Friday evening. By Saturday, the barricades were up for Sunday's big event.

 September 10
 The 'Empty Sky' memorial in New Jersey State Park was dedicated where new icons now stand. Two walls and steel beams mark that New Jersey residents died in the tragedy ten years ago. In Shanksville, Pennsylvania where United flight 93 crashed into the ground, a commemorative ceremony was held. Former President Bill Clinton will offer his help to raise funds to build a memorial there. A 'hand-in-hand' ceremony was organized by Community Board 1 in Battery Park. The world's largest free flying flag was hung at 1 WTC about 6pm in Lower Manhattan by construction workers. In Bryant Park in Midtown, a seat was left open for each one that died that day. At night, the globe rescued from 'Ground Zero' and placed in Battery Park was illuminated along with the flags with the names of the deceased. These events were not the only ones, but some of the many. No, we're not forgetting anything about that fateful day ten years ago.

September 11 
Early Sunday morning, those involved in the big show will assemble in Lower Manhattan. The whole place has been in 'lockdown' since Friday evening. Unless you absolutely needed to be there, stay home and watching it on your television was the best option.NYPD checkpoints were on a seemingly block by block basis.

As a participant, I found the mood somber and respectful. For all the diversity in our nation, we came together to remember what happened to our nation on that day 10 years ago. Uniformed civil servants such as police, fire and others such as airplane pilots stood side by side on Church Street watching the ceremony on the jumbotron tv screen.

September 12
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and National September 11 Memorial and Museum President Joe Daniels will officially open the Memorial to the public with Memorial architects Michael Arad and Peter Walker, as well as 9/11 Memorial board members who are family members of victims who perished in the 9/11 attacks or those injured as a result of the attack. It was a pure photo-op for the politicians/Museum officials but the victim representatives did make themselves available to the media. These were passionate interchanges and the message delivered was to give medical aid to the survivors as those people selflessly went looking for survivors amid the destruction and toxic fumes.

Joe Daniels said 'it was a peaceful place' as the noises of the rest of the city went away and a respectful oasis was a good place to pray and remember the fallen and injured. Having experienced this peacefulness, I concur.




September 15
Alice Greenwald, Director, National September 11th Memorial and Museum gave a digital preview 'tour' of the Museum's interior (which is scheduled to open 9/11/2012) at a NYMTC (New York Metropolitan Transportation Council) PFAC meeting. Shown was a complete step-by-step look at the Museum from beginning to end. The Museum's scope includes artifacts such as steel beams, WTC 'tridents' and vocal recordings of radio transmissions and phone calls. The recovery effort was also included in the presentation. 

 Joel Ettinger, the Executive Director, gave the ED's report and announced that a booklet was available after a 9-11 Memorial Program for Regional Transportation Planning: a 5-year retrospective was conducted. NYMTC is the transportation planning group for the area around New York City within New York State.



Summary
Clearly, the decisiveness of our political climate must be resolved and we must move forward as a nation. Those that died and injured on that fateful day must be made whole as they represent the supreme sacrifice and selflessness. Pray for their souls. An old expression is, if you keep thinking of them and have them in your heart, they're still alive.

Amen.